Rebuilding Professional Networks – An Interview with Georgina Smith
- Mar 6
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 9
In a world shaped by remote work and digital networking, meaningful professional connections are becoming harder to find. In this interview, Georgina Smith shares how she created Share-A-Table to bring professionals back to the table, where real conversations can spark collaboration, opportunity, and unexpected career breakthroughs.
Who is Georgina Smith?
I'm Georgina, Founder of Share-A-Table. I'm a global adventurer, experience designer, and believer that the right conversation at the right moment can change your life.
Life has taken me from Melbourne to Sydney, Curitiba to Madrid, Barcelona to London, and Amsterdam. Along the way, I've designed event experiences from the intimate to the epic. What struck me most wasn’t the places, it was the people. The stranger who became a collaborator. The dinner/lunch coffee guest who opened an unexpected door.
The serendipitous connection that unfolded an entirely new world.
I learned that magic doesn’t just happen; it needs the right environment, the right energy, and the right attitude. That’s exactly what I’m creating with Share-A-Table: a place where remarkable people come together, real conversations flow, and one meeting can change everything.
What inspired you to start Share-A-Table, and what problem are you solving with it?
Post-pandemic, our professional lives changed permanently. Remote and hybrid work gave us flexibility but cost us face-to-face connection. We've lost over two hours per week of in-person social interaction since smartphones arrived, and that number has grown since 2020.
The result? Workplace isolation is real. And it’s not just isolating; it’s limiting. Without direct contact, your professional network suffers. Opportunities that used to land in your lap now pass you by.
That’s why I founded Share-A-Table: to create intentional spaces for the in-person professional connections that hybrid and remote work have taken away. Hybrid work is also a contributor, as the lack of regular contact breaks down the very fibers that keep social connections robust.
WeWork, WeCrashed, We’ll Match-A-latte
In the not-so-distant future, your next job won't come from LinkedIn. It'll come from a conversation at a café three blocks from your apartment.
Post-pandemic office occupancy in the UK sits at 56% of 2019 levels (JLL, 2024). That missing 44%? They're working locally in cafés, co-working spaces, or at hybrid setups that blend both.
But here’s the gap: co-working spaces offer desks, not connections. You’re surrounded by people, but you share nothing except walls. Cafés feel more human, but they’re not designed for deliberate professional connection.
The businesses that solve this—creating local spaces supported by platforms that facilitate real collaboration—are creating something powerful (and local): professional communities that thrive in proximity, not just in Slack channels.
What makes Share-A-Table different from other networking or social platforms?
We started broad, connecting all walks of life at tables (with a focus on mixed groups between 35-55). But we quickly learned that professionals are short on two things: time and money. They want both valued and well-spent.
Our early social tables were great. People connected, yet the cost of bringing new members in via social channels became prohibitively expensive. Guests were also frustrated. If tables were too large, it was difficult to have a real conversation, not a repetitive one. You wanted to be able to circulate and meet. At times, many female members felt like they were subsidizing others' meals or expensive drink tastes, from cocktails to post-dinner whiskey, which is a lot mid-week. The cost-value ratio wasn’t there. And the "meeting strangers to cure loneliness" pitch? It’s a hard sell. No one aspires to that label.
So, we pivoted to niche, work-focused connections. Founders, makers (the creatives that tell your story), and tech engineers—people who actually need each other to build. Smart people with ambitious ideas always want to connect. But creativity and innovation don’t happen in bubbles with people from the same discipline.
That’s the key difference between us and free networking groups: we’re building working relationships, not collecting business cards.
What specific benefits do professionals gain when they join a Share-A-Table experience?
These are the people who complete each other’s builds. We concentrate on connecting them locally, across disciplines, so they can create real business opportunities: in person, with purpose, and see the results of their work.
What kinds of people or industries benefit most from your tables and why?
Amsterdam is predominantly a tech startup hub, but we see founders across food production, health, wellness, and more. We have deep AI and tech talent here, but when those solutions need to be human-centered, that’s where makers and strategists come in. What we know is that even an AI tool will need someone to sell it in (especially for big corporations, and that requires marketing, sales support, tech system integrators, and change makers to increase internal user adaptability and adoption).
What are the key elements that make a Share-A-Table event successful?
The mix of professionals and the depth of their expertise. This is a niche hotspot of talent, not general networking, but an untapped resource in every city. The key is getting them together, in person, at a table.
It’s a unique energy source, incomparable to what AI promises or marketed ‘on the tin’ it can do. It’s the je ne sais quoi human magic and energy that experts in their field seek, whether they're Founders building their Startup, or any professional feeling stuck where they are—underutilized.
What challenges do your clients typically face before joining, and what changes after they participate?
Typical challenges for professionals include time constraints and questions of cost-value ratio. The very same concerns they have with any networking event or turning up to a social gathering when they know very few people.
That’s why Share-A-Table is becoming far more niche and focused: to enhance the magic of serendipity. If you want to transform how you're managing your business, land your next paid gig as a freelancer, or build something new and challenging, you’re unlikely to find it on LinkedIn or any job board. We make it possible. We make the search shorter and your time worthwhile.
What should someone expect when they attend their first Share-A-Table event?
You’re guaranteed to meet professionals at your level, but it will feel far less like work than expected. It verges on social. It’s warm, engaged, and welcoming. Everyone is surprised by how much they enjoy it. People lean in, and because of that, you get more out of it.
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